The Eni Joule for Entrepreneurship special mention for the most innovative startups

Three startups received the 'Eni Joule for Entrepreneurship' special mention at the 2023 edition of the Eni Awards in the presence of the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella. This continues Joule's commitment to fostering the application, exploitation and transfer of technology, while supporting the creation of a sustainable innovation ecosystem.

This year, the “Eni Joule for Entrepreneurship” special mention was awarded to three startups that distinguished themselves for innovation and sustainability across their business projects:

• Reco2, a Pontecorvo (Frosinone)-based startup, has patented a circular economy process for a wide range of useful sustainable building and street furniture applications through the reuse of industrial waste materials. 
• Ohoskin, a Catania-based startup, has created and patented an alternative to animal leather for applications in fashion, automotive, and furnishing, produced from orange and prickly pear waste, whose production chain is located entirely in Italy. 
• 20energy, a Spoleto-based startup, has developed, produced and commercialized an intelligent device that converts kinetic energy dissipated by cars when slowing down into electrical energy that can be used on-site or distributed to the grid. 

The “Eni Awards 2023” ceremony, established to find new technological solutions and clean energy to promote scientific research, sustainability and respect for the environment, took place on 16 October at Palazzo del Quirinale. The event was opened at the Salone delle Feste with speeches by Giuseppe Zafarana and Claudio Descalzi, Chairman and CEO of Eni respectively. After receiving a medal minted for the 2023 edition of the Eni Award, President Mattarella presented the awards.

Now in its fifteenth year, the prize is considered an international benchmark for research in energy and environment. It is testament to the importance of scientific research and innovation and Eni’s commitment to foster sustainability and energy access, in accordance with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Over 11,000 applications were made since the Awards’ inception in 2008. The Scientific Committee, which assesses the submissions, is made up of scientists from top global research institutions and has included 6 Nobel laureates over the years.

After the ceremony, the winners had the opportunity to present their research and exchange ideas with Eni researchers during the "Eni Award Talks" event at ROAD - Rome Advanced District.